“I certainly didn’t have access to it…”
“No, only those of the company you employed did.” Daragor weaved around some branches in full accusatory mode now. “I am Regent Apprentice of our house and of our empire. If there are plans that affect our prosperity, then I should know about them.”
“There’s nothing to know, dear brother.”
“Material used in the ships and the enemy armor came from factories we own,” Daragor pressed, but Rezia interrupted.
“When my daughter banished me, you, and father and mother and even our siblings and much of the Board wanted to get all our revenge on all Navarus holdings. Either through force of arms or financial ruin, you wanted to make them pay. But I stopped you all, didn’t I?”
“I didn’t say you shouldn’t do it; just that I should be involved.”
Rezia drew in a breath. She did not blame her brother for being mad. It’s hard to run any operation where there are wildcards. So she switched gears and said, still in their family tongue, “So many people have speculated on the intrigues of Ceriliseta. Some say it came out of nowhere. That she must have gotten her ruthlessness from her father. That Galek Navarus was overthrown by a spawn of his own making. But none of them knew Galek. I did. He was a sentimentalist. He’d have rather spent his life in a warehouse with the ancient treasures he was collecting. Hades, he never even learned what they did. If he had, we’d have been leagues ahead in the Relic Wars… I mean, sorry, they would be leagues ahead. In any event, they’re wrong. Ceriliseta did not learn her skills of intrigue from her father. She inherited them from me.”
Daragor was unnerved by the sly grin that grew across his sister’s face. She even looked a little proud. He was not surprised by the truth of it, but he was afraid of the confidence of it. This was not the sister he thought existed underneath the veneer of flighty joy.
After only a brief pause, a speaker crackled to life. “Donna Rezia. You have an esteemed visitor who desires a short tour of your garden.”
“Show him in,” Rezia said, her eyes remaining on her brother. Daragor took the opportunity to exit the situation. He had noticed that Rezia knew it was a man who had come to visit, which made him curious, but not curious enough to stick around. Rezia’s stare was unnerving him enough to seek out the better part of wisdom; so he left as another man entered.
Before the man had come close, while he was still obscured through a veil of greenery, Rezia said, “Greetings and salutations, Nikos Kazakis. Graduate of Highest Honors at Reeve University. First to discover the lost city of Rexal, from which you were able to recover countless artifacts made of precious metals which you stripped to make yourself gorgeously wealthy. Rather than resting on your laurels, you used it to hunt down rare animals and not only sell their heads, but take others on hunts from which they could bag their own trophies. You acquired enough to build your own little empire, but then angered the wrong people and have been scrounging for treasures instead.”
“I prefer not to live under someone else's thumb, Donna Eudosic. I'm sure you can relate.”
Rezia stepped closer to Nikos so he could see her face. “The way you stabbed your former classmates in the back at Rexal. The ones who had actually discovered the city? But come now, you were the one to take credit, so you must have been the actual person to discover it.”
Nikos was visibly taken aback. The reference to his classmates had particularly shaken him. But he pulled himself together and said, “If you sav so much about me, then you must know why I'm here now.”
“I know it's because you wish to prove yourself to me. You don't have a lot of others to turn to due to the twists in your reputation. Twists due in part by my daughter. You need a win. And you always register how to choose a winner, don't you, Mr. Kazakis?”
Nikos took a moment to answer. He now knew he would have to choose his words wisely in Rezia's presence. At last he said, “I never took my lady for such calculation.”
“Do not overestimate me, looter,” she said, causing Nikos to wince. She knew it would. Nothing galled Nikos more than calling him out for what he was. She then continued, “The only thing I can't cipher is how exactly you wish to prove yourself to me. And how you expect to leave alive if you can't.”
“Donna Eudosic, you truly are the mother of your daughter,” Nikos said, taking a small, cloth bag from his jacket pocket and tossing it to the floor. It landed with an audible thud. Rezia hesitated before kneeling down and picking it up. She opened the top and looked inside. “Scientists call it aroradite. Getil Corporation, which you own, calls it Riol. They use it as a power source for operating your dark bases at...”
“I sav what you speak of,” Rezia said. “But I am not in charge of these decisions. You will need to speak with my father or my brother.”
“My... lady...” Nikos dragged out the words as if disappointed in a student. “There is being in charge. And then... there's... really being in charge.” He looked her in the eye with the final statement. Then he pointed at the plants as he named them. “Robare. Marten, Mariana, Carmaina, Leonodero... Malachi... All real human beings who would have lived if you hadn't killed Malachi.”
“Aborted.”
“Yes,” Nikos said, grinning victoriously. “Is that the first time you've admitted to aborting Malachi?”
Rezia didn't answer. She looked away.
“I won't pretend to speculate on which medication you took, but it wasn't the alcohol which ended the pregnancy and killed any future chance at a Navarus heir other than Ceriliseta. But you didn't know she would end up banishing you...”
Rezia lunged at Nikos. “WHAT DO YOU WANT!” she shouted.
Nikos merely took a step back and said, “A chance at redemption. I want you to fund my expedition. If you know my credentials, you know my reputation for successfully locating artifacts that are beneficial to the client.”
Cooling down, Rezia asked, “What will you bring to me?”
“Well in our tongue, we're calling it quantum crystals. I know it's not a very exciting name like most relics, but...”
“How will it benefit me?”
“Exactly. That's more important. Imagine communication across the known galaxy instantaneously.”
“That's wormcom,” Rezia said.
“That's not instantaneous. And it takes longer and is less reliable the further away you are. Plus, you're limited on how much graphical information you can send through. So no visual communication past a certain distance. Quantum crystals, the ancient Milak Shivar were onto them, but they didn't sav how to exploit them to their fullest potential. I know the planet where I can find them and bring them back.” Rezia was intrigued, but on the fence, so Nikos added in the Eudosic family language, “And if we move quickly, we can beat your daughter to it.”
Rezia was impressed by Nikos' language skills, and his ability to tap into exactly what she wanted to hear. “What kind of backing do you need?” she asked.
“Electros,” Nikos said. “And a team.”
Rezia thought for only a moment. Then she stepped behind a large plant and said, “You shall have it. But you shall go with one of my own champions.”
“I already have someone I trust as a lieutenant,” Nikos said.
“You will want this one as your lieutenant,” Rezia said, disappearing behind her greenery.
Nikos searched for Rezia, where she had gone. Then he saw what she was speaking of, and his eyes grew wide.
Chapter
Five
The Badlands
Lancaster and Mika were both leaning far over the control panel peering down at the scenery below that was growing larger as they approached. The hotel/casino where they were landing sat between woods on one side where Brodin’s organization once gathered primosap, and a cliff on the other, which dropped into the chasm of badlands that stretched out over the horizon. Though a wasteland, dots of quartz outcroppings and other variegated stone glimmered across the sharp ripples of the rocky ocean. This view made
the Bollermo an enticing location to stay for the affluent who had Electros to gamble away, despite the common knowledge that it was run by the underworld.
Though the planet was owned by Bitterpub Corporation, the Laui Syndicate controlled the entertainment centers that made the most amount of money. Their interstellar presence and covert operations made them powerful enough to dictate their own terms. And they paid the right people off handsomely enough to be left alone.
The glow of the lights from the windows were growing dominant over the waning light of the primary sun. Twilight faded over the sky, though it was not going entirely dark. The Noel system’s second sun hung in the sky, distant, but still commanding among the stars, along with three moons that reflected enough light to generate multiple shadows.
Landing lights flickered to life, guiding Little Jack onto the platform. “Sit down,” he said annoyed at his two passengers still dangling over his controls.
They did as commanded, and before they had strapped themselves in, the ship landed with a thud, and they bounced uncomfortably in their seats. Mika eyed Little Jack with an expression that said she knew he had done that on purpose; and he eyed her back with an expression that said yes, he had.
The Bollermo bore the cozen opulence of a palace with a muted tackiness within the gambling arenas. A pit of card tables surrounded by a restaurant and the check-in center covered the first floor. The second and third levels were opened up with a central atrium that held more games of chance for which the decor belied how little chance the players had of winning.
Mika stalled, staring at some of the ornamentation. Lancaster looked over a couple of the statues standing atop Formica platforms. The theme of the interior design was that of the reptilian Milak Shivar, and many of the ornamentations were clearly from their ruins. It was a veritable museum, but used in the most disrespectful of manners. Laid out among stereotypical depictions of early tribal cultures, the relics of this space-faring race were surrounded by vulgar adornments of ancient fantasy and folklore.
Little Jack rolled his eyes when he realized he wasn't being followed anymore, and he turned around to look at Lancaster and Mika. When each turned their eyes toward him, he motioned his head in the direction they had been going, and they abandoned their judgments and followed.
Little Jack was used to such venues. Most corporate establishments appropriated whatever profitable element they could from any and all cultures that would attract the eyes of the wealthiest customers. Underworlders did the same, but with less taste. These places were not made for those who cared about those ancient people who came before humans were even sparkles in the eyes of primates.
The threesome exited the elevator on the third floor and Little Jack led them toward a balcony that overlooked the badlands. There they found a lone figure dressed in a long evening gown with luxurious, flowing hair that faded from sky blue to deep violet streaming down her exposed back like a lazy river. A gap in the right side of her gown revealed a rose, and her leg ran out of it like an angled marble pillar.
“High heels?” Little Jack asked.
“Makes me almost look courtly, doesn't it?” the woman asked.
“Going to be hard to do the job,” Little Jack said.
“Hi Jude,” Mika said once they were out of earshot of others.
Jude glanced past Mika to confirm that no one else could hear, then smiled her cocky grin of greeting and said to Little Jack, “Our job is going to be to keep eyes off these two.”
“We're looking for evidence down there,” Little Jack said.
“You mean those ruins we can easily see from here,” Jude said. “You see all the decor on your way in? They like taking whatever looks nice. If they vis folks poking around finding something that's valuable, they may just want you to work for them. And you don't say no to Laui.” Jude stopped a moment and looked into the eyes of Lancaster and Mika to emphasize what she was saying. “You don't say no to Laui.” Then she said to Little Jack, “The best way for us to help find whatever they're looking for is to distract whoever might want to watch them.”
Little Jack didn't argue. He just stared at her as she spoke, then said, “So we have all of those obsessed with nice shoes covered.”
“And good taste in clothing. You look great, Jude,” Lancaster said.
“Thank you!” she responded. “You clean up pretty well yourself.”
Jude wasn't lying. Lancaster rarely dressed up. He preferred the life out in the wild territory that hadn't been populated for millions of years dressed in whatever was most comfortable and could carry the tools he would most need to survive. Today, however, he knew that he would need to fit in with respectable society; or something trying to pass for that, so he had worn a suit with a sash-vest and a lightly rippled tie. More importantly, he wanted to look good for Mika. He had even studiously shaven every hair from his cheeks and chin.
Mika had done the same. Used to parties that strove to this level of excess when she was fundraising, Mika had a wardrobe of clothes appropriate for such a location. However, she wanted to be wearing something that would be functional and flexible in case they went out into the badlands sooner rather than later, so she wore a practical suit with pleated slacks and polished shoes. Now seeing Jude so smoothly poured into a form fitting dress, a competitive part of Mika wished she had chosen something less pragmatic.
Little Jack, meanwhile, had dressed as he always had; pressed clothes, impeccable taste, mostly blacks with occasional glimpses of whites.
Everyone gathered at the railing and looked over at the badlands and the ruins within as they schemed. Twilight had set in, and the sky was flushed fuchsia sparkled with white dots, three full moons, and a small, distant sun.
The multiple angles of light illuminated most sides of every butte, though fog had curled up inside the deeper chasms where water settled, and obscured what was beneath. Chunks of the ruins stuck out the sides like sharp crags scattered haphazardly at the foot of the cliff. They increasingly formed together the further away they got until entire wall sections and archways could be distinguished. By the time they reached a half kilometer away, intact roof sections remained, and nearly full buildings could be discerned. The view was part of the attraction of the hotel.
Lancaster and Mika confirmed that they were indeed Milak Shivar; more specifically, their underwater structures. Lancaster pulled a foldable Vizros from his inside jacket pocket and peered through it to get a better look. He zoomed in on points of interest and made a sound of recognition. Mika leaned into him and said, “Let me see.”
Holding the telescopic device steadily on their target, Lancaster handed the Vizros carefully to her. “I think that's an Ekolad Hearth.”
“If it is, there should be a transference station nearby,” she said, scanning around the structure in question. She settled on part of a wall next to a tall mound. “And chances be that's it.”
“I've never seen one of those above the surface of an ocean,” Lancaster said.
“I've never seen them outside of a hologram.”
“That’s what you miss by not going out in the field.”
“How did the Stellar Arcanum overlook this site?” Mika asked.
“Laui isn't fond of outsiders ganding over their territory,” Jude said. “Not even scientists. It's spotly that any organization you’re associated with knows better. Individuals who try it are known to go missing.”
“Like your husband,” Little Jack said.
“But he's been spotted since then,” Mika said. “And he wasn't in a cell. Wherever he went, it was from a clue down there.”
Jude and Little Jack eyed each other skeptically. Then Little Jack turned his face up toward the building, laying the back of his head on the railing. He switched the settings on his glasses to analyze the structure and its materials; then switched to electro-settings to get a sense of where monitoring equipment and other command-control elements might be.
Jude leaned over the railing near his ear, a smi
le across the side of her lips facing him. This was where the fun would begin. “Blick over the landing platform on 18.”
“Not a VIP suite?” Little Jack asked.
Jude shook her head slowly as though swaying it to amusing music. She bit her lip as though holding in a secret, then let her purple-blue hair fall in front of the lower half of her face as though dropping a veil and whispered, “Drone port.”
“That's inconvenient,” Little Jack said.
“For someone who doesn't sav how to hack into remotes,” Jude said at the edge of a laugh.
Lancaster had taken the Vizros back from Mika. She was making too many excited sounds for him to stand idly by. “Where was the Soklis Biosphere?”
Mika closed her right eye and placed her left cheek against Lancaster's so she could see his same eyeline, then unfolded her arm straight forward to point at the building.
Lancaster followed it; but he paused before reaching the finger, lingering on a ring of walls holding parts of a roof whose sharp ends stabbed toward the sky.
“You find it?” Mika asked.
“No, I'm vising an Asmenius Basilica.”
“Are you abso?” she asked, yanking the Vizros away. “Where was it?”
Smiling, Lancaster said, “I saved the spot on three.” Mika pulled her eyes away and looked at the small number pad on the side of the Vizros. She pressed three and looked inside again. Arrows pointed her to where Lancaster had been looking and provided the range to it. She gasped.
“If it is Asmenius it could mean the Shivar were continuing to practice Peluki through this period,” Lancaster said.
“They might even have a Shivaran Kukori inside,” Mika said.
“If the casino hasn't looted it.”
“Probably isn't gaudy enough for them,” Mika grumbled. Lancaster chuckled. Mika peeked over to him. His look of confidence comforted her worry and annoyance of the syndicate. She pulled the Vizros to her face again. “I've got to find the Soklis Biosphere for you again... Wait!” She straightened. “There's a Steuric wall.”
Relic Worlds - Lancaster James & the Salient Seed of the Galaxy, Part 1 Page 4